Board of Supervisors
Meeting Date:

Staff Lead:

Department:

Topic:

A Resolution to Approve a
Waiver for a Right-of-Way Less Than Fifty Feet in Width
(WAVR08-CR-047), Cedar Run District

Topic
Description:

The
owners/applicants are seeking for a waiver of Zoning
Ordinance Section 7-302.1.A.3, Limitations, which would
allow a subdivision on a private street less than 50 feet in
width. The applicants are proposing to divide a 13.5612-acre
parcel into two lots of 4.4802 and 9.081 acres. The purpose
for the proposed division is to create the 4.4802-acre
parcel as a legal lot of record. The property fronts on
Squires Lane, which is a private road that connects to Old
Auburn Road (Route 670). The entire length of Squires Lane
is less than 50 feet in width.

A
subdivision potential letter request submitted for PIN
#7903-96-5917 revealed that the 4.4802-acre parcel and a
9.081-acre parcel (PIN #7903-96-7882) were one legal lot of
record. Although a boundary line adjustment had been
completed between the two properties, a determination by the
Zoning Administrator indicated that the plat recorded on May
6, 2005 is Void Ab Initio because the two parcels
could not have been legally created through the boundary
line adjustment process. Thus, the 4.4802-acre lot does not
exist as a separate buildable lot under the Zoning and
Subdivision regulations of Fauquier County. The Zoning
Administrator further opined that the 4.4802-acre parcel
could be created as a legal lot using the administrative
division process. As a result, the owners are pursuing an
administrative division to divide the parcels. In order to
complete the administrative process, the right-of-way
providing access to the property must be 50 feet in width.
Squires Lane is less than 50 feet in width. Thus, the
applicants will require a waiver of Zoning Ordinance Section
7-302.1.A.3, which states that the right-of-way must be a
minimum of fifty (50) feet in width.

This item
was originally presented before the Planning Commission on
February 28, 2008. On February 19, 2008, the Planning Office
mailed letters to adjoining property owners advising them of
the waiver that was being requested by owner/applicants
Carlton Hughes and Brenda Simpson. The letter generated
several comments from adjoining property owners. Some of the
adjoining property owners were concerned about the waiver
and the possible impacts to Squires Lane. They provided
deeds, which indicated that Squires Lane is approximately 16
feet in width and not 50 feet wide as had been originally
thought. Although there is a 50 foot wide easement across
several of the properties along Squires Lane, it is limited
to those property owners who signed a road maintenance
agreement. It appears that all other owners of property who
did not sign the road maintenance agreement are limited to
the right of way for ingress and egress to access, which is
16 feet wide. In light of this new information, the
owner/applicants’ counsel, James Downey requested that this
item be postponed so that he could fully investigate the
matter.

Since the
February meeting, this item has been postponed twice to
allow the owner/applicants’ counsel additional time to work
with the surveyor and the adjacent property owners. On May
6, 2008, Mr. Downey sent out a letter on behalf of Mrs.
Simpson to the adjoining property owners on Squires Lane.
The letter was sent in an effort to explain the complexity
of the issue and to seek their support to allow Mrs. Simpson
use of Squires Lane for ingress-egress to her lot. A copy of
the letter is included as Attachment 4.

Attachment 1 is the proposed division showing access to
the lots. The applicants’ Statement of Justification is
included as Attachment 2. Attachment 3 is a
determination provided by Kim Johnson, Zoning Administrator
regarding the subject property. Attachment 4 is a
letter sent to adjoining property owners on behalf of Mrs.
Brenda Simpson.

Zoning/Acreage/Land Use:

The subject
property is zoned Rural Residential (RR-2). Adjacent
properties to the immediate north, south, east and west are
zoned RR-2 and Rural Agriculture (RA).

Location:

The property
is located between Rogues Road (Route 602) and Old Auburn
Road (Route 670), Cedar Run District.

Staff
Analysis:

Section
7-302.1.A.3 requires a minimum width of 50 feet for a
private street. However, the Board of Supervisors has the
authority, in conjunction with a subdivision plan, to modify
this limitation provided the applicant can show that:

1. No other
remedy is realistically feasible;

2.
Plausible alternatives have been exhausted;

3. To not
modify the applicable limitation would place an unreasonable
restriction on the use of

the
property; and

4.
Properties through which access is planned will not be
unreasonably affected.

Additional
right-of-way for Squires Lane could not be secured. No other
remedy is feasible. Without this waiver, the property cannot
be used.

Planning
Commission Action:

On May 29,
2008, the Planning Commission unanimously recommended
approval of the Applicants’ waiver of Section 7-302.1.A.3 of
the Zoning Ordinance.